The transparent plastic ball — known as a Zorb — sailed over a rock ledge in the rugged Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia. The ball picked up speed as it flew down the steep slope, rolling and bouncing.

Sources tell WWN that Vladimir Putin had something to do with the accident. He has been using Zorbs as a way to punish Russians who do not bend to his wishes. Some of the Zorbs are “specially made” and sources tell WNN that the Zorb at the ski slope was one of the Kremlin Zorb rather than a harmless Ski Zorb.

A video of the Zorb event went viral yesterday. It shows two men getting strapped into a Zorb at the top of a mountain before they set off down the slope. The Zorb rolls out of control toward the bottom of the mountain and veers off to the left, over a barrier made of snow and down towards a gorge, hitting a number of rocks along the way.

The first Zorbing site was established in Rotorua, New Zealand but “hill rolling” is now practiced in a number of locations around the world.

An advertisement promoting the “new species of unusual entertainment” at Dombai says the “ice-zorb” promises a “guaranteed sense of gravity and weightlessness”.

The accident prompted the emergencies minister to demand on Wednesday that Russia address its lax enforcement of safety rules for winter sports.

But, Putin plans to keep his using his own personal Zorb and to use the Zorbs on any who dissent from his opinion.